Ahead of the Texas 89th Legislative Session, the following bills were introduced on November 12, 2024 by Texas Lawmakers proposing to amend the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code:
- HB 679:
- HB 708:
- SB 245
- SB 246
- SB 287
- HB 1301
In areas where the sale of liquor for off-premise consumption has been approved by local option election (areas wet for liquor stores) this bill would authorize Texas Package Stores a.k.a liquor stores to sell alcohol on Sundays between 10 a.m. and 9 p.m, unless another local option election is approved to prohibit Sunday liquor store sales.
Texas distilleries are currently prohibited from selling more than four 750ml bottles of liquor to the same consumer within a 30-day period under Tex. Alco. Bev. Code 14.05(c). This bill would remove the 30 day limitation by repealing 14.05(c).
This bill would change the areas in which Consumer Delivery Permit Holders (CD Permittees) are allowed to deliver alcohol on behalf of alcohol retailers. Currently, CD Permittees are restricted to deliveries in wet areas within 2 miles of the city boundary line in which the underlying retailer is located; or if the underlying retailer is not in a city, the county where the retailer is located. SB 245 would amend the allowed delivery area for CD Permittees to within 50 miles from the underlying retailer’s premises.
Texas Distillers would be allowed to ship liquor to Texas consumers via a Carrier Permittee.
This bill would also create a new TABC permit called an “Out-of State-Distillery-Direct-Shipper’s Permit.” The new permit would allow US distilleries located outside of Texas to ship liquor to Texas consumers.
Finally, SB 245 would make shipping liquor from outside of Texas to consumers within the State a criminal offense if the shipper does not have Out-of State-Distillery-Direct-Shipper’s Permit. The TABC has recently expressed concern about illegal direct-to-consumer shipping; TABC’s Executive Director Thomas Graham spoke about this issue at the 2023 National Conference of State Liquor Administrators (NCSLA) Conference.
If passed, this one would essentially eliminate byob strip clubs in Texas by prohibiting non-TABC-licensed sexually oriented businesses from allowing alcohol to be brought or consumed at their business.
This would create a new subordinate TABC permit for Brewery (BW) and Winery (G) permit holders with restaurant facilities at their business. The subordinate permit would make these manufacturing-tier businesses eligible to sell beer and wine not brewed or fermented by the business. This would give BW’s with restaurant facilities the ability to sell outside beer and wine – similar to how Beer and Wine Retailers (BG) with subordinate Brewpub Licenses (BP) can – and for G’s to sell beer.
